Book of Deuteronomy

Chapters

Summary

Summary of the Book of Deuteronomy

This summary of the book of Deuteronomy provides information about the title, author(s), date of writing, chronology, theme,
theology, outline, a brief overview, and the chapters of the Book of Deuteronomy.

Title

The Hebrew name of the book is �elleh haddebarim ("These
are the words") or, more simply, debarim ("words";
see 1:1). The word "Deuteronomy" (meaning "repetition of
the law") arose from a mistranslation in the Septuagint
(the pre-Christian Greek translation of the OT) and the
Latin Vulgate of a phrase in Dt 17:18, which in Hebrew
means "copy of this law." The error is not serious, however,
since Deuteronomy is, in a certain sense, a "repetition
of the law" (see Structure and Outline).

Historical Setting

Deuteronomy locates Moses and the Israelites in the territory
of Moab in the area where the Jordan flows into the Dead
Sea (1:5). As his final act at this important time of transferring
leadership to Joshua, Moses delivered his farewell addresses
to prepare the people for their entrance into Canaan. In
them, Moses emphasized the laws that were especially needed
at such a time, and he presented them in a way appropriate
to the situation. In contrast to the matter-of-fact narratives
of Leviticus and Numbers, here the words of Moses come
to us from his heart as this servant of the Lord presses
God's claims on his people Israel.

Special Function in the Bible

The trajectory of the story that unfolds in Genesis-Numbers
seems to call for an account of the conquest of Canaan
as found in Joshua to bring closure to the movement from
promise to fulfillment (see Introduction to Joshua: Title
and Theme). But Deuteronomy intervenes as a massive interruption.
Here there is very little forward movement. At the end
of Numbers, Israel is "on the plains of Moab by the Jordan
across from Jericho" (Nu 36:33) and at the end of Deuteronomy,
the people are still there (Dt 34:8) waiting to cross the
Jordan (see Jos 1:2). All that has happened is the transition
from the ministry of Moses as God's spokesman and official
representative to that of Joshua in his place (Dt 34:9;
see Jos 1:1-2). But Moses' final acts as the Lord's appointed
servant for dealing with Israel are so momentous that Deuteronomy's
account of them marks the conclusion to the Pentateuch,
while the book of Joshua, which narrates the initial fulfillment
of the promises made to the patriarchs and the conclusion
to the mission on which Moses had been sent (see Nu 17:15-23; Jos 21:43-45), serves as the introduction to the Former Prophets.

So Deuteronomy creates a long pause in the advancement
of the story of redemption:

of deliverance from bondage to a world power (Egypt) to a place in the earth where Israel can be a free people under the rule of God;

of deliverance from rootlessness in the post-Babel world (Abraham, Isaac and Jacob) to security and "rest" (see Dt 3:20 and note; 12:10; 25:19) in the promised land;

of deliverance from a life of banishment
from God's Garden (Ge 3) to a life in the Lord's own
land where he has pitched his tent (Jos 22:19).

But in that long pause on the threshold of the promised
land Moses, in this renewal of the Sinaitic covenant, reminded
Israel at length of what the Lord required of them as his
people if they were to cross the Jordan, take possession
of the promised land and there enjoy the promised "rest"
in fellowship with him. It was a word that Israel needed
to hear over and over again. Upon reading the Pentateuch,
Israel was brought ever anew to the threshold of the promised
land and its promised "rest" to hear again this final word
from God through his servant Moses (see also Ps 95:7b-22).
For this reason, all the history of Israel in Canaan as
narrated in the Former Prophets is brought under the judgment
of this word.

Theological Teaching and Purpose

The book of Deuteronomy was cast in the form of ancient
Near Eastern suzerainty-vassal treaties of the second millennium
b.c. It contained the Great King's pledge to be Israel's
Suzerain and Protector if they would be faithful to him
as their covenant Lord and obedient to the covenant stipulations
as the vassal people of his kingdom. There would be blessings
for such obedience, but curses for disobedience (chs. 27 - 30).
Deuteronomy's purpose was to prepare the new generation
of the Lord's chosen people to be his kingdom representatives
in the land he had unconditionally promised them in the
Abrahamic covenant (see Structure and Outline below; see
also notes on 3:27; 17:14,18).

The love relationship of the Lord to his people, and
that of the people to the Lord as their sovereign God,
pervade the whole book. Deuteronomy's spiritual emphasis
and its call to total commitment to the Lord in worship
and obedience inspired references to its message throughout
the rest of Scripture. In particular, the division of the
Hebrew Bible called the Former Prophets (Joshua, Judges,
Samuel, Kings) is thoroughly imbued with the style, themes
and motifs of Deuteronomy. Among the Latter Prophets, Jeremiah
also reflects strong influence from this book.

Structure and Outline

Deuteronomy's literary structure supports its historical
setting. By its interpretive, repetitious, reminiscent
and somewhat irregular style it shows that it is a series
of more or less extemporaneous addresses, sometimes describing
events in nonchronological order (see, e.g., 10:3). But
it also bears in its structure clear reflections of the
suzerain-vassal treaties of the preceding
and then-current Near Eastern states, a structure that
lends itself to the Biblical emphasis on the covenant between
the Lord and his people. In this sense Deuteronomy is a
covenant renewal document, as the following outline shows: